Reunion: REAL family pictures

I have a cold, so i haven't posted in a few days. but life is good around these parts. 

Busy, hectic, crazy, confusing, draining, and piling on top of each other. 

But so so good. 

_______________________

I am in LOVE with Samantha Kelly Photography. have been since she started. mainly because she captures what i imagine to be real moments of each family she highlights

so i love that Raycelan and Phillip took some photos even when we weren't standing smiling in perfect lines. because our dynamic shined through. 

Jenae is a 1970's singer/songwriter. Maris is a mob boss. Caleb has to go to the bathroom. 

and i'm just casually being myself. holla. 

 i love us. 

this picture CRACKS ME UP because it is a totally perfect portrait of my mother's relationship with her phone. she pretty much thinks it's the best thing ever to have been created. and she insists it is better than ANY legitimate camera. and she denies all of that. 

BUT HERE IT IS, CAUGHT ON CAMERA. YES. 

I also got quite a few creeper pictures of Derek and Raycelan

After our big group picture, while some families took individual pictures, the rest of us played aroudn the AWESOME tree house and playground with he kiddos. This ranch is my brother in law's brother in law's. haha. it's way nice!

the place had a great scope for imagination.

I ruv dees people:

 I LOVE JENAE. 

sometimes i'm surprised by how much i miss her. 

living at home for 7 out of the 12 months of a year was actually great for our relationship. 

i think. 

I LOVE YOU, WEASEL. 

(these are traditionally unattractive pictures of us. enjoy.)

it definitely looks like i've gained 30 pounds. 

i haven't. ha. 

remember what i said about needing hair on both sides of my face?

this is what i mean:

Da homie.

and then came my favorite part. 

The grandbaby picture.

 I think all 11 of my neices and nephews are the STINKING CUTEST HUMANS ON EARTH

deal with it. 

they're adorable:

 MY personal favorite:

toooo good. and in ten years, they MUST reenact it.

i mentioned the amount of creeper pictures i took of Derek and Raycelan, right? (AKA Derek and Odette. also, kind of have a Fred/Daphne thing goin' on.)

they're just so dang good looking.

and then i forced the twins to take a picture. 

which i will continue to insist on having probably until the end of time because i'm preeeeeeeetty sure we're actually triplets and mom as just been lying to us all along.

LOVE this:

"Utmost Homie(s)" 

Brothers: I'm real sad not to have a picture of all of you together

Sisters: I'm real sad not to have a picture with all of you.

Neices, nephews, and parentals: the same.

I am so very very blessed to have my family. 

I love us more than my little heart can voice.

DEAR FAMILY: I'm doing everything i can to be my best me cause i want to be together forever. and i'm gonna do whatever it takes to make sure we all get there.

we climb together. 

Today's Happies

Today I am happy.
and it's one of those days where you're just plain happy. not for any big reason, but a million little ones, you know?

I've had family visiting since Thursday, and i love talking to my sisters! (and Phillip, Hi Phillip.) and i LOVE hanging out with my nieces and nephews. they just make me happy. they're like a fresh set of batteries!
Lydia even said out loud that we're friends. so i'm pretty much set for life.

Sunday was so good that it's still spilling into the week!

Anticipation for General Conference is only building. and knowing that it's impossible to be let down only makes it better.

My Boyfriend is pretty good looking if i do say so myself. not that looks are the most important thing but they sure don't hurt.

the Musical I've been managing since January is FINALLY opening! tomorrow night! I am GIDDY about it. seriously.

I'm going to a wedding on Friday, those are fun.

I finished the fifth work and the Glory book (fiiinally. haha. and it was BEAUTIFUL. MATTHEW AND JENNIFER JO FOREVER.)

the stars were clearer tonight than they have been in weeks.

there are baked goods in my tummy. yum.

the sound technician gave me a very sincere compliment tonight that i will literally never forget. I've always been really intimidated by him, and it's just validating to hear him say i'm doing a good job.

Mallorie sent me a cool new song.

and those are some of the things that made me happy today.

Since I've been home

 I've been home since the third week of July and Since then, I have...

• Helped Jenae out on her farm

So my little sister is a hard core aggie. So straight up planted her own vineyard at our high school's farm. And it's really big! she planted it, set up all the wire things (I know nothing about farming, don't judge me) and water drips, and she tied almost all the vines by herself! (we went out and helped her finish the last couple rows so she could meet her deadline) I was honestly impressed on my first trip out there

while tying vines, my mom found a tiny baby bunny! then my Dad touched it, and i bet it's mom ate it because it had my Dad's scent on it -_-. Way to GO, dad.

Jenae also has two animals that she cares for and is sowing them in the county fair in September. Then she'll sell them to Butchers and make lots of money? i have NO IDEA how the system works, alright? but she devotes a LOT of time to these stinky things. they have names but i call them McDouble and McBacon.

Jenae is not amused...

yeah, she's like an Officer in the FFA. who gave her permission to be an adult? I didn't.

• Harvested Almonds

Some friends of ours have an Almond Orchard and every summer they hire a bunch of kids to come do the in-between jobs that machines don't do. So i the last week of July waking up at dawn to shake almonds and rake them to the middle of the row. It seems easy, it kind of is,  it's also tiring. But it goes by quickly if you're working hard.

Jenae hates me.

Cons: - stupid immature high school boys who wasted the Peruch's money by standing aroudn joking and laughing while the rest of us were working. ugh.

- the heat. luckily we ended at noon, before it got obscenely hot. My body went through a weird thing at first because i was so used to Idaho weather, i was NOT prepared for the 100+ days here.

- my hair getting stuck in EVERY FLIPPING BRANCH IN THE ENTIRE ORCHARD. seriously at least every other tree. most AGGRAVATING thing in the world. awful. 

Pros: - getting to walk and talk with my cousin Teddy, my little Sister Jenae, and our friend Jaise, all morning for a week. It's good to catch up and talk like normal teenage girls.

- I GOT A TAN. a fatty farmer's tan actually. and i'm still ridiculously pale, but i no longer have that 'Idaho Vampire' look.

- 200 bucks. holla.

- arm muscles. seriously, though. holding a giant pole up in the air all day hitting stray almonds has it's benefits. and raking all day is a serious ab workout.

- gospel analogies. seriously! almond Harvest = perfect metaphor for a lot of things. 

• celebrated Jonathan and Derek's 23rd birthday! OLD GRANDPA'S. since I was home with Jonathan, we tried to recreate some old photos. they just turned out awkward and so i didn't put them on facebook. but as you know, i have no problem putting attractive pictures of myself on here :)

• Said goodbye to some of my best pals

they're wonderful. and good looking. I'll miss 'em. they're off to serve missions! Janelle to Brazil, Nicole to Tennessee, and Ernesto to Chile! good luck fellas!

• Enjoyed 3 of my 8 (soon to be 10!) favorite kiddos

My sister Allison and her husband Kent wanted to go on a trip before their new baby comes in just a couple weeks! so they went on a romantic coastal getaway and we watched the kids. i MISSED THEM so much!! they're each so unique and hilarious and i cannot WAIT until their baby brother (please name him Seth please name him Seth please name him Seth) is born!

Friday around noon my mom was still at work, the kids were getting cabin fever and it was HOT. so i sprayed them with the hose. haha just as fun for me as it was for them. haahahahahaha

Jenna has a black eye from an unfortunate run in with a buzz lightyear toy. haha. i was also cracking up at her swimsuit because it reminds me of a wrestling uniform. (by the way, Allison, I LOVE Natalie's suit! her shorts are adorable.)

Jenna HATED being sprayed with water directly. haha so i sprayed down the trampoline and Jenae supervised her splashing around. too cute.

other highlights of the weekend include Peek-a-boo:

grammy's toy closet:

and stargazing!

• other summer events not pictured: 

-where's waldo for Young Single Adult FHE. I was Waldo.

- babysitting. lots of it. hallelujah.

- a baseball game

- going to Brandon's house. happy happy. applying for 235474 jobs in Idaho

- MERLIN. MERLIN MERLIN MERLIN. honestly, it's a sick obsession. the day i finished the fifth and final season, i cried because i hated the ending, and then i cried because it was beautiful, and then i cried because i wasted hours and hours on a TV show and i felt lame, and then i cried because it's over. sigh. and last night i had a dream that Sir Percival asked me out on a date. swoooooon.

- missionary lessons! one of my friends from high school is learning more about my church and is going to get baptized! SO exciting! and i get to go to her lessons with our missionaries,m which is way cool.

- Mal pal. Mallorie Lane Hakanson. late night talks, sleep overs and taylor swift. sounds good.

and that's it so far. Summer's half way over, now.

still don't know how to feel about it.

the ONLY reason why i wish i had stayed i Rexburg was so i could see my brother Donny (or should i say, DON...hahaha) and his wife Christine's baby who is literally due any day. I WANT TO MEET HER SO BAD. I won't say her name in case they wanted it to be a surprise, but i can already picture her brown curly hair and her squishy cheeks.

my thoughts on new niece and nephew will  be coming to this blog soon.